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Adverbs of frequency
and adverbial phrases

Presentation


So… when can we meet?


Yesterday, today and tomorrow

confusión

Janotta, S. (2015) Woman, question mark, person, decision, thoughtful [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/1DGzgeY Consulted on March 14, 2017

You are very welcome to review and practice the use of frequency adverbs and phrases and time expressions. Some examples are: always, never, sometimes, on Monday, every morning, last month, next week.These adverbs are important when you talk about habits and social activities that you share with your friends and family, or when you are referring to present, past and future events.

To begin, you will hear a fun dialogue with the two main characters of this topic, Mary and Erik in which you will identify the adverbs of time. Then, you will benefit from a new vocabulary, listen to your pronunciation and learn grammar with three important rules for using adverbs and expressions of time. You will also find three practice exercises to help you improve your learning. In the activities you will read about Mary's experiences in Europe and you will listen to the second part of her dialogue with Erick

Finally, it will be your turn! You will tell us about yourself, your friends and family activities in the present, past and your plans for the future, through a voice narration and the writing of a brief autobiography.

Get ready for fun and learning!

Before starting…


Watch about two university classmates getting to know more about each other, while they are waiting for their next class outside their classroom. In their conversation, you will identify some adverbs of frequency and expressions of time. Pay attention.



Now read the video dialogue between Mary and Erik:

  • Erick: So… is it still time, or is our professor late?
  • Mary: Hmm… I guess it is still time. It’s Five to Nine. Yeah…
  • Erick: Weeell, …hmm… a cigarette?
  • Mary: No, thanks, I don’t smoke!
  • Erick: Oh! Ok …and tell me… hmmm Mary, I guess?
  • Mary: Yes, I’m Mary! Nice to meet you…ehm!
  • Erick: Erick! Nice meeting you Mary!
  • Erick: Do you live nearby?
  • Mary: I do! I am sharing an apartment with a couple of friends. So I only walk for 10 minutes to arrive here.
  • Erick: Lucky you! I need to take the subway and make a transfer from the pink to the green line. It usually takes me more than 60 minutes to get here.
  • Mary: That’s kind of long, isn’t it! What time do you get up to come to class?
  • Erick: I generally get up at 5:45 am from Monday to Friday, but today I got up a little late. Happily, tomorrow we won’t have the first class, remember?
  • Mary: Sure, I know! Professor Alday traveled to U.S.A last Tuesday and she will not be back until next Monday.
  • Erick: And say, What do you do over the weekend? Do you meet friends?
  • Mary: Actually, I don’t. I am always busy so I don’t usually hang out with friends. I work on Saturday and Sunday mornings and I also have so much schoolwork to do on weekends.
  • Erick: Hey, professor’s coming! … Talk to you later, Mary! Let’s go in!
  • Mary: Anytime!

Did you recognize some frequency words and time expressions in the dialog about habits, past actions or future plans? Listen and read again if you want to.


Objective

Objective, goal

Tumisu (2017) Establecimiento de metas, objetivo, destino, dart [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2o5I8V5 Consulted on March 14, 2017

At the end of this topic you will:

Use the frequency adverbs and phrases, as well as time expressions, by describing relevant social and habitual situations with friends and family, to refer them in contexts of the present, past and future.

Adverbs of Frequency

Do you remember Mary and Erick in the Powtoon? Do you make good friends like them? Everybody has a friend, or more than one, and we enjoy spending time together. How frequently do you meet them?

As you saw in the video, frequency adverbs and frequency phrases are words and expressions that modify actions that people do periodically in daily life. They express how intense or repetitive activities occur as part of a habit or a routine.

The following chart illustrates the adverbs from high intensity or repetition to a total absence of the action. Click on the arrows on the sides to review the information.

Next, it is important to mention that adverbial phrases and time expressions are groups of words (usually 2 or more) that are used as common expressions to signal either the repetition of an action or the moment when an action takes place in present, past or future. Look at some of them:


ADVERBIAL OR TIME EXPRESSION MOMENT RELATED TO TIME
From Monday to Friday Repetition
Yesterday Past event
Tomorrow Future Action
Saturday Morning Routinary Present
At this moment Momentary Present

GRAMMAR SPOT

Let’s see some examples from Mary’s dialog and observe the position of the frequency adverbs with respect to the verb, and the position of the frequency phrases and time expressions in the sentence.


Public domain (2012) Ojo, mujeres, gracioso, vidrio. [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2oCZCbyhttp://bit.ly/2oCZCby Consulted on March 14, 2017

Now you will practice the time adverbs and expressions that we have reviewed in this lesson.

reading ico

Reading


Activity 1

A surprising Mexican girl

Observe the following collage; now imagine how the frequency adverbs and the time expressions could tell the stories of those images.



What do you think of the collage? Amazing, isn’t it? The following text tells us the story of Mary and her daily life, her experience in Europe in the past and her plans to go back there in the near future. Notice how frequency adverbs, phrases, and time expressions signal the intensity and moment of her actions.



1. This is Marycarmen, a Mexican student at the Faculty of Architecture in University City in Mexico, UNAM. She studies Urban Passage Design at the oldest and largest university in Latin America, also ranked as the 4th best in 2016 by the QS University Rankings in Latin America.

2. She's 19 and she can speak three languages: English, French and Spanish. At the moment, she is sharing an apartment with three roommates near the University campus. She’s made a lot of friends, but she rarely hangs out with them because she’s doing a lot of activities after classes.

3. She studies German twice a week, she takes drama on Monday and Wednesday, and she is in the university contemporary dance group, too. Also, she has a job over the weekend: she teaches English and French to children and adolescents.

4. Last year, Mary took a year off to make a trip to Europe. She met young male and female friends from all over the world. They spent a lot of time together: they went to museums and restaurants, they saw art galleries of all sorts, they visited clubs and monuments. Sometimes they cooked together at Mary's place and ate typical food from their countries. It was great! She really misses them now.

5. Mary is finishing her second semester this May and she wants to make another trip next June. She is going to meet some of her friends back there in Hamburg, Germany and Bruges in Belgium. She will probably stay there for 3 or 4 weeks… if she saves enough money, of course!




Now you will answer a column relationship exercise, using the adverbs of time and you will demonstrate your understanding of the text


listening ico

Listening


Activity 3

Mary, tell me more about your trips!

Listen to Mary and Erick again. Now they are talking about different moments of Mary’s present, past and future and they are using adverbial and time phrases to signal her social activities, as we have reviewed in the topic.


The Architectural Design professor is dismissing the class. Mary picks up her books to leave the classroom. Then she hears a voice calling her name... Listen to the audio.



After listening to the audio, click on Activity 3 to answer the exercise choosing the correct answer. You can only do the exercise once.


Activity 4

In the following exercise you will choose the correct answer for each sentence according to what has been reviewed in the topic and what you have understood in the audio.

Click on Activity 4. Then, drag and drop the correct words to complete the sentences.


Writing

Activity 5

My little biography

When we talk about our past, present and future, we use adverbs of time to describe our activities, plans, stories and important events. This is part of what we reviewed in the topic. In the next activity, write a brief biography of your life. Follow this infography as a guide

Consider these characteristics:

  • Write about your life (about 100 words and a minimum of two sentences per each photo).
  • Check the correct use of your verbs in present, past or future and include frequency adverbs and time expression to signal specify the moment when your activities happen.
  • TIP: as reviewed in Activity 2 with Mary’s life, you can click here if necessary as a suggested model.
  • Use the key words included in each photo for your composition and provide additional relevant information. Be aware of spelling and check punctuation as well.

Example:


Last Saturday I went to the supermarket. I usually do the groceries this day because I don’t have time during weekdays. I also go to the gym, I always do that. Next week, I will probably go to Guadalajara. I go there every time I can. It is my favourite city in Mexico. I have never gone to Colima, for example, which is very near from Guadalajara, but i may go if I have the time.

Read carefully the following checklist to include each of the aspects in these descriptions to obtain the highest score in every criterion. Tick them off as you consider them accomplished. You can do it excellently!


Speaking

Activity 6

This is me!

cabina telefonica

Pronunciation in the English language is very important. Considering what has been reviewed in the video in the content section, you will perform an activity in which you will record your voice.

Tell us about your social and daily activities with friends and family, as Mary told us in her dialogs in the listening and in the reading sections. Choose one topic to be developed:


  • Daily individual activities during the week or weekends.
  • A nice memory from a social event in your past.
  • Your and family’s or friends’ plans for the next weekend or holiday.

Suggestions:

  • Use grammar structures accordingly, as well as an understandable pronunciation.
  • Add some important activities and details that can be of interest to your listener.
  • Make a written draft with the information related to the topic you have chosen so you can follow it while speaking. We suggest you check this rubric.
  • Practice orally several times, before you finally feel ready to record your voice, and listen to yourself.
  • Listen to this example so can have an idea of how your audio can be.
  • Remember your recording time, must not exceed 2 minutes.
  • So speak fluently with little interruption from one phrase to another or from idea to idea.

Record your audio using the free app vocaroo.com

When you have finished, evaluate your audio with this checklist Tick them off as you consider them accomplished. You can do it excellently!




Audio example:


Self-Assessment


Say when! Yesterday, today or tomorrow


You have done a great job during the activities in this topic. Now, you need to evaluate your own progress about frequency adverbs and phrases, as well as time expressions. This brief questionnaire has 15 questions, and you will only have two chances to solve them. Good luck!


Senderismo

English (2015) Senderismo, Motaña, Escalada motaña, Paseo, Trekking. [Photo] Taken from http://bit.ly/2nTDqMx Consulted on March 16, 2017




References


Main References

  • Alexander, Louis G. (2005). Longman English Grammar. Singapore, Longman.
  • Eastwood, John. 2002. Oxford Guide to English Grammar. Hong Kong. Oxford University Press. Recuperado el 30 de octubre de 2017 en https://www.uop.edu.jo/download/research/members/Oxford_Guide_to_English_Grammar.pdf
  • Goldsmith, P. y Pérez Alonso, M.A. (editores). 1996. Diccionario Oxford Escolar para Estudiantes Mexicanos de Inglés. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Additional references